Systems and methods for recommending merchant discussion groups based on merchant categories

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed in which merchants on an e-commerce platform may use a same computer application to start and/or join discussion groups with other merchants on the e-commerce platform. An existing discussion group may be recommended to a merchant based on data specific to that merchant. A notification of the recommendation may be transmitted to the user interface of the merchant's device, and if the merchant accepts the recommendation, then the discussion group may be added to the set of discussion groups the merchant follows. Alternatively, a recommended discussion group may be automatically added to the set of discussion groups the merchant follows.

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 retrieving data specific to a particular merchant that is stored in an e-commerce platform;   using the data to categorize the particular merchant as belonging to a particular category of a plurality of merchant categories, wherein each category of the plurality of merchant categories has associated therewith a respective subset of discussion groups;   selecting a target discussion group that the particular merchant is not already associated with, the target discussion group being selected from the subset of discussion groups associated with the particular category; and   storing in memory an association between the particular merchant and the target discussion group in order to associate the particular merchant with the target discussion group.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein prior to associating the particular merchant with the target discussion group:
 transmitting a request over a network to a merchant device of the particular merchant, the request recommending that the particular merchant be associated with the target discussion group; and   receiving a response over the network from the merchant device of the particular merchant, the response authorizing that the particular merchant be associated with the target discussion group.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the data specific to the particular merchant is first data, wherein the particular category is a first category, wherein the target discussion group is a first target discussion group, and wherein the method further comprises:
 retrieving second data specific to the particular merchant, the second data being retrieved after associating the particular merchant with the first target discussion group;   using the second data to remove the particular merchant from the first category and instead categorize the particular merchant as belonging to a different second category of the plurality of merchant categories;   selecting a second target discussion group that the particular merchant is not already associated with, the second target discussion group being selected from the subset of the discussion groups associated with second category; and   storing in the memory an association between the particular merchant and the second target discussion group in order to associate the particular merchant with the second target discussion group.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 3 , further comprising deleting from the memory the association between the particular merchant and the first target discussion group. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 4 , wherein prior to deleting from the memory the association between the particular merchant and the first target discussion group:
 transmitting a request over a network to a merchant device of the particular merchant, the request querying whether the particular merchant is to still be associated with the first target discussion group; and   receiving a response over the network from the merchant device of the particular merchant, the response indicating that the particular merchant is to no longer be associated with the first target discussion group.   
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein a discussion group in the subset of discussion groups associated with one category is different from another discussion group in the subset of discussion groups associated with another category. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein for each category of the plurality of merchant categories: a discussion group in the subset of discussion groups associated with the category is different from the discussion groups in each other subset of discussion groups associated with each other category of the plurality of merchant categories. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the data specific to the particular merchant includes an indication of a quantity of visits to an online store of the particular merchant. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the data specific to the particular merchant includes information relating to number of sales and/or dollar amount of sales of one or more products sold by the particular merchant using the e-commerce platform. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein information related to a plurality of the discussion groups is stored in the memory, the information including: (i) an identifier for each discussion group that uniquely identifies the discussion group, and (ii) for each discussion group a time-ordered sequence of messages that belong to the discussion group; further wherein associations between merchants and the discussion groups are stored in the memory, wherein at least two of the discussion groups are each associated with a respective different set of merchants, and wherein a message belonging to a discussion group is transmitted to merchant devices of the merchants associated with the discussion group. 
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving a request over a network from a merchant device of a merchant, the request to create a new discussion group;   storing in the memory a new identifier for the new discussion group that uniquely identifies the new discussion group;   storing in the memory subsequent messages that belong to the new discussion group;   associating the new discussion group with a given category of the plurality of merchant categories.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the merchant that requested to create the new discussion group belongs to the given category. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the majority of merchants associated with the new discussion group belong to the given category. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein each category of the plurality of merchant categories corresponds to a respective different merchant development phase. 
     
     
         15 . A system comprising:
 a memory to store information related to a plurality of discussion groups;   a processor to, for a particular merchant:
 retrieve data specific to the particular merchant that is stored in an e-commerce platform; 
 use the data to categorize the particular merchant as belonging to a particular category of a plurality of merchant categories, wherein each category of the plurality of merchant categories has associated therewith a respective subset of the discussion groups; 
 select a target discussion group that the particular merchant is not already associated with, the target discussion group being selected from the subset of the discussion groups associated with the particular category; and 
 store in the memory an association between the particular merchant and the target discussion group in order to associate the particular merchant with the target discussion group. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein prior to associating the particular merchant with the target discussion group, the processor is to:
 generate a request for transmission over a network to a merchant device of the particular merchant, the request recommending that the particular merchant be associated with the target discussion group; and   receive a response over the network from the merchant device of the particular merchant, the response authorizing that the particular merchant be associated with the target discussion group.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the data specific to the particular merchant is first data, wherein the particular category is a first category, wherein the target discussion group is a first target discussion group, and wherein the processor is further to:
 retrieve second data specific to the particular merchant, the second data being retrieved after associating the particular merchant with the first target discussion group;   using the second data to remove the particular merchant from the first category and instead categorize the particular merchant as belonging to a different second category of the plurality of merchant categories;   selecting a second target discussion group that the particular merchant is not already associated with, the second target discussion group being selected from the subset of the discussion groups associated with second category; and   storing in the memory an association between the particular merchant and the second target discussion group in order to associate the particular merchant with the second target discussion group.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the processor is further to: delete from the memory the association between the particular merchant and the first target discussion group. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein prior to deleting from the memory the association between the particular merchant and the first target discussion group, the processor is further to:
 generate a request for transmission over a network to a merchant device of the particular merchant, the request querying whether the particular merchant is to still be associated with the first target discussion group; and   receive a response over the network from the merchant device of the particular merchant, the response indicating that the particular merchant is to no longer be associated with the first target discussion group.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein a discussion group in the subset of discussion groups associated with one category is different from another discussion group in the subset of discussion groups associated with another category. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein for each category of the plurality of merchant categories: a discussion group in the subset of discussion groups associated with the category is different from the discussion groups in each other subset of discussion groups associated with each other category of the plurality of merchant categories. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the data specific to the particular merchant includes an indication of a quantity of visits to an online store of the particular merchant. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the data specific to the particular merchant includes information relating to number of sales and/or dollar amount of sales of one or more products sold by the particular merchant using the e-commerce platform. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the information related to the plurality of discussion groups includes: (i) an identifier for each discussion group that uniquely identifies the discussion group, and (ii) for each discussion group a time-ordered sequence of messages that belong to the discussion group; and wherein the memory is to also store: associations between merchants and the discussion groups, wherein at least two of the discussion groups are each associated with a respective different set of merchants, and wherein a message belonging to a discussion group is transmitted to merchant devices of the merchants associated with the discussion group. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the processor is further to:
 receive a request from a merchant device of a merchant, the request to create a new discussion group;   store in the memory a new identifier for the new discussion group that uniquely identifies the new discussion group;   store in the memory subsequent messages that belong to the new discussion group;   associate the new discussion group with a given category of the plurality of merchant categories.   
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the merchant that requested to create the new discussion group belongs to the given category. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein the majority of merchants associated with the new discussion group belong to the given category. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein each category of the plurality of merchant categories corresponds to a respective different merchant development phase.